Circular loom for manufacturing hats and the like



Nov. 3, 1931. H. WISMER 1,830,454

' CIRCULAR LOOM FOR MANUFACTURING HATS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 26,1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 3, 1931. H. WISMER 1,830,454

CIRCULAR LOOM FOR MANUFACTURING HATS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 26, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 3, 1 931 TUNETED' STATES Pater.

HEINRICH w sMER, or zURIcmswrrznn-Lnnn FFICE CIRCULAR LOOK FOR MANUFACTURING HATS AND THE LIKE 7 Application filed December 26, 1929, Serial No. 416,638, and in Germany February 1, 1929.

In a known circular loom, an increase in the number of warp threads used, in the weaving has to be effected by unwinding fresh warp threads from the warp bobbin by hand 53 and introducing them into the fabric again by hand. .No. sort of mechanical appliance for bringing in the warp threads is provided in this known loom or is applicable thereto. In the circular loom according to the pres- 16 cnt invention, the adding of the new warp threads is effected mechanically and quite automatically, as a result of which not only isthe quantitative output of the machine increased tenfold, but a thoroughly uniform and positive introduction is also obtained.

Iii-the case of the known'circular loom mentioned above, the increase inthe number of warp threads by hand could only be effected according to the judgement of the eye, so that closer and less close spacesoccurred in the fabric.

In the circular loom according to the present invention, moreover, the warp threads do not have to be cut off and re-assembledby 2 hand as in the case of the earlier construe tions, for the purpose of producing a new formation, but always remain tensioned, and, after the termination of one woven article, are automatically assembled again by a mechanical device such as a gripper, so that hatshaped articles can be manufactured in uninterrupted sequence by a completelyauto matic operation. For the conveyance of the chain of closed hollow fabrics there preferably serves-a conveying device, which seizes it on both sides throughout the length that is being conveyed and accompanies it.

With the present circular loom the follow-' ing advantages are obtained: The individual 4o.

, as contrasted with the otherwise usual rolling upon a common warp beam; automatic re;

sumption of the operation after completion of a woven article; a fixed path, offering but little friction, for the shuttle, and aposltiveand powerful drive of thela-tter, in which the very variable tension ratios (variablenumber of warp threads) and the unwieldiness of the raw materials applied (bast fibres 501 and straws ubstitutelare allowed for. g V

warp threads are independent of one another,

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated in oneconstructional example in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the circular loom. fFig. 2 is an axial sectional elevation there- 0 Fig 3 shows a shuttle inend elevation, and means to drive the same. 7

Fig.3! showsthe same in side elevation.

Fig. 4 is a sectional'view ou line A.-B of Fig. at", showing the means for. gradually raising the warp carriers. i

Fig. 4 shows the'same in side elevation.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation-of means for pressing the fabric against themol'd, the means being shown in approach orclosed position- Fig. 6 1s a plan view ofthe mold and of the said means, the'latter being shown in open:-

or expanded position.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, similar to Fig. 5, showing the said means in open or expanded position, as in'Fig. 6. i a

.In these drawings, 1 is a stationary hollow cylinder-with afoot and an upper inwardly directed flange 2, on' which hollow cylinder aresupported the bobbins 3 with the outer warp threads. 4: isa short rotatable hollow cylinder with upper and lower flanges 5 and 6, which cylinder carries the bobbins 7 for the inner warp threads and is set-in slow rotation by means of a hollow shaft 4: and a worm drivet The warp threads pass from bobbins 3 and 7 at right angles at the lower end and engage in oppositely inclined closed guiding grooves. 11- and 12provided on a rotary disc 10. A" driving shaft 13' and a bevel drive 14 impart to the rotary disc 10 a revolving movement, whereby the warp carriers 8 and 9 are raised. alrllddlowered for the purpose of forming the s e i I v V The manufacture of circular, flat or hollow fabrics contemplated requires a gradual in-- crease inthe' number of warp threads em through eyes 3 and 7 a to the tips of warp carrier's-8 and 9 square in crossployed, in order that. a uniform filling of the surface with warp threads may be obtained.

: In-the lo'om ill ustrated, at, the commencement of the weaving, all the warp threads in ually, that is, with the progressive increase in the circumference of the circular fabric that is being produced, do more and more warp...

threads come into use. The gradual raising cam disc 15 U V This increase in the number threads employed is "obtained owing to the fact that the bent ends 16 of the warp carriers 8 and '9 are of unequal length, as de- Each of the scribed more fully hereafter.

inclined guldlng grooves 11 and 12 has agap- 1-Z -in the lower guiding flange (Fig. 46 and al at the place where they begin to ascend again, tally movable slider 18. The bentends of the warp carriers. are gradually length, so that as thegap-l'? isclosed the number of warp carriers called into operation' is progressively increased. These sliders 18, are displacea-ble forwards by means of non-circulardiscsnot shown, are put rather far back at the commencement of the work, most of the'warp carr ers 8, 9

remain unmoved in the lowest position when H the gap 17- revolves past'tliem, and only a few of the warp carriers ticularly long ends 16, are carried along the-slider 18 and supplied to the guiding groove 12. Y

Each of the sliders 18, slowly rotating in the directionbfthearrow 4) togethcrwith the disc 10 gradually take's'with 1t warp earners-with shorter and shorter ends 16-, until all the warp carriers are taking part in the shed formation. The gap 17 permits 18 to pass. After the completion of a woven article each slider 18 quickly and the initial condition is reproduced. The

shuttles 19 and 20 carry weft bobbins 22' and revolve upona roller track formed of individual rollers 23 carried by rods 21: and 22?.--

The advancing movement of the shuttles-19 and 20 is obtained by the fact thatup'on the latter is fitted a laterally inclined plate 24:,

upon which the warp carriers 8 and 9, positively lowered by the guiding grooves 11 and 12, press by means of a small roller' 25.

The lateral component of this'pressureeffectsthe forward movement of the shuttle'j For the purpose of obtaininga betterzcov-i of the unitof area with a definite numerin b warp threads the latter are placed not ber' of 369,761 the slow rotation of thetwowarp a as which gap is filled up by a horizon increased in 8 and 9, with parthe carriersnotataken up by the slider oes back again tangentially t 0:

This latter method of working, here provided, brings with it important advantages, namely 1n the firstplace quite a considerable structural simplification, andin the second place .the possibility of employing, for the outer warp threadcircle which is now sta-' of the mold shaft 15 is effected by'a rotatable ti'o11'a1y,largewarp bobbins fitted upon a stationary bobbin creel. r

If'the circul rloom,

fabrics, is employed for the manufacture of circular :hollow fabrics, hats for example, the mold-15 carried by the. vertical vrod.15 is fitted, which servesas a support forxthefabric. Thismold is slowly raised by the: abovementioned non-circular-disc 15 so that the weaving; zone is located} at a. constantlevel. notwithstanding the progressive format-ion; ofthefabric. c i -Ilrr{ order that; the fabric may fit-Vv snugly to the mold 15? the latter is loosely embraced bya tongs lik eauxili'ary appliance 26, 27, 28, 29 (Figs. 5,. 6 and 7'). Thesetongs, consist ing 'oftwo'asemi-circular. limbs 26 andf28 and ofv two carryingi arms 27 and29r, moved from above. by.reccentrics', not shown, arematador being employed for the manufacture of disc shaped ed chain'whi'eh isguided forward between,

two belt'conveyors 31 and82. It is possible however to employiother conveying means.

From the above account itwill be evident that .two zweft threads are introduced into the shed at. the saenetime, so that each weft thread always assumes-the same-shed positionythaitis to say,.one weft thread in the shed position withthe outer warp threads atthelopf'iand *tlllQ inner warp-threads underiieatlr- 2 on the left) .and one weft thread the shed position with the: outer warp threads'underneath and the inner warp threadsabove on theiri-ght). From this it follows: 'that theoutputis doubled. Contact" of the warp threads during, the revolving of the shuttles. is prevented, and conseguently tearing away of warp threads is Pied-need. ii

"Instead of keeping the warp carriers or healds tha't'aie notiparti cipatin'g the she'd formation in-"the ldwest position; they may alternatively be kept in the highest position, in which case by gradually pushingback the slider, a corresponding lowering of the warp thread carriers takes place, corresponding to the different lengths of the bent portions'of the warp carriers in the lifting device, for

the purpose of shed formation.

"In order that .a suflicient'number of driving warp carrie'rs for the forward movement of the shuttle may be'presentat the commencement of the weaving, there may be provided between the warp carriers that are still stationary special driving members which par ticipate in the shed movement from the outset but carry no warp threads.

lVhat I claim is V I v 1. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising warp carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent portions at the lower ends of different warp carriers being'of different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage withthe bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the saidwarp carriers out of their lowest position for the formation of the shed, the rotatable lifting device being formed at its lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp carriers with shorterbent low-er ends, and means for gradually closing thesaid gap and thereby progressively increasing the number of warn threads participating in the weaving operation. i

2. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising warp carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent portions at the lower ends of different warp carriers being of different lengths,a rotatable liftingv device adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers'and thereby to raise the said warp carriers out of their lowest po sition for the formation of the shed, the rotatable lifting device being vformed at its lowest pointwith a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to vfail to engage some of the warp carrlers with shorter bent lower ends,

means for gradually closing the said gap and thereby progressively increasing the number 7 of warpthreads participating in the weaving operation, a ring of columns, a roller rotatably mounted at the top of each column to form a circular roller track, and a shuttle resting upon the saidroller track.

3. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising an outer ring of stationary warp carriers having their lower ends bent, a slowly revolving inner ring of warp carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent portions at the lower ends of different warp carriers being of different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage ually "closing with the bent lower ends of they'var'p carriers andthe'reby to raise the said warp carriers out of their lowest position forthe formation of the shed, the warp threads fromthe moving warp carriers being laid-spirally and the warp threads from. the stationary warp car riers being laid radially, the rotatable lifting device'being-formed atits lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp carriers with shorter bent lower ends, and means for gradthe 'saidga'p and thereby progressively increasing the number of warp threads participating in the weaving operatisoni. v p 4., A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising an outer'ring ofstationary warp carriers having their lower ends bent, a slowly and intermittentlyrevolving inner ring of warp carriers having their lower' ends bent, the bent portions at the low r ends of different warp carriers beingof different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the said warp carriers out" of their lowest position for the formation of tl. e shed, the warp threads fronrthe moving warp carriers being laid spirally and the warp threads from the stationary warp carriers being laid radially, the rotatable-lifting device being formed at its lowest point with a gap adapte'dto cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp. carriersjwith shorter bent lower ends, and-means for gradually closing the said gap and thereby progressivelyincreasingthe number of warp threads'participating in the weaving operation. Y

5. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising warp carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent portions at the lower ends of'diflerent warpcarriers being of different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the" said warp carriers out of their lowest posi tion. for the formation of the shed, the rotatable lifting device being formed-at its lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to'fail 'to'engage some of the warp carriers with shorter 'bent lower ends, means forgradually closing the said gap and thereby progressivelyincreasing the number of warp threads 'participating in the weaving operation, and a tongs-like device adapted to follow the outline of the article that is being woven and to gather together all the warp threads when one article is completed for the commencement of another article without the threads" h-avi'ng to be cut and tied again. 6. A circular 100111 for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising warp carriers having 1 ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the said warp carriers out of their lowest position for the formation of the shed,

the rotatable lifting device being formed at its lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp carriers with shorter bent lower ends, means for gradually closing the said gap and thereby progressively increasing the number of warp threads participating in the weaving operation, a ring of columns, a roller rotatably mounted at the top of each columnto form a circular roller track, a shuttle resting upon the said roller track, and a tongs-like device adapted to follow the outline of the article thatis being woven and to gather together all the warp threads when one article is completed for the commencement of another article without the threads having to be cut and tied again.

7. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and-hat-like articles, comprising an outer ring of stationary warp carriers having their lower ends bent, a slowly revolving inner ring of warp carriers having their lower ends bent, the

bent portions at the lower ends of different warp carriers being of different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the said warp carriers out of their lowest position for the formation of the shed, the warp threads from the moving warp carriers being laid spirally and the warp threads from the stationary warp carriers being laid radially, the rotat-able lifting device being formed at its lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp carriers with shorter bent lower ends, means for gradually closing the said gap and thereby progressively increasing the number of warp threads participating in the weaving operation, a ring of columns, a roller rotatably mounted at the top of each column to form a circular roller track, a shuttle resting upon the said roller track, and a tongs-like device adapted to follow the outline of the article that is being woven and to gather together all the warp threads when one article is completed for the commencement of another article without the threads having to be cut and tied again. 7 n v 8. A circular loom for the continuous and automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising warp. carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent. portions at the lower ends of different warp carriers being of different lengths, a rotatable lifting device adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the said warp'carriers out of their lowest position for the formation of the shed,

number of warp threads participating. in the V weavin operation, and aconveyor device adapted to grip on both sides a chain of unseparated articles manufactured on the loom and remove them.

9. A circular loom automatic manufacture of hats and hat-like articles, comprising an outer ringof stationary warp carriers having their lower ends bent, a slowly and intermittently revolving inner ring of war. carriers having their lower ends bent, the bent portions at thelower ends of different warp carriers being of different lengths, a rotatable lifting devicev adapted to engage with the bent lower ends of the warp carriers and thereby to raise the said warp carriers out oftheir lowest position for the formation of the shed, the warp threads from the moving warp carriers being laid spirally and the warp threads from the stationary warp carriers being laid radially, the rotatable lifting device being formed at its lowest point with a gap adapted to cause the lifting device to fail to engage some of the warp carriers with shorter bent lower ends,'means for gradually closing the said gap and thereby progressively increasing the-number of warp threads participating in the weaving operation, a ring'of columns,'a roller rotatably mounted at the top of each column to form a circular roller track, a shuttle resting'upon the said roller track,atongs-like device adapted to follow the outline of the articles that are being woven and to gather together allthe warp threads when one article is completed for the commencement of another article without the threads having to be cut and tied again, and a conveyor device adapted to grip on both sides a chain of unseparated articles manufactured on the loom and remove them.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

' HEINRICH WISMER.

for the continuous and 

